At least 27 people were killed and more than 90 wounds by Israeli forces near a humanitarian aid distribution center in the Southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza.
This marks the second fatal incident in three days near a help site. The ministry said the victims expected to collect food when the shooting began.
Of the murdered, 24 bodies and 37 injured individuals were taken to the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis. The general director of the hospital, Atef al-Hout, declared that most victims were the result of shooting.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged that a shooting took place approximately 500 meters from a help site led by the Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) backed by the United States and Israel (GHF).
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“Today early, during the movement of the crowd on the regulated routes on the road to the distribution complex, approximately half a kilometer from the complex, the FDI forces identified several suspects that moved towards them while they deviate from the access routes,” said the IDF in a statement.
“The forces fired evasive shots, and after they did not move away, they shot near the individual suspects that advanced towards the forces,” the statement continued.
The IDF said that it is aware of victims' reports and confirmed that “the incident details are under investigation.” He also emphasized that he does not obstruct civilians to reach the aid centers.
“The FDI forces do not prevent Gaza residents from reaching the help distribution complexes,” said the military. “The shooting was carried out at approximately half a kilometer from the distribution complex in individual suspects that approached the forces in a way that endangered them.”
GHF also issued a statement, stating that its aid distribution operations on Tuesday were completed “safely and without incident on our site today.”
However, GHF recognized the ongoing research of the IDF on whether civilians were damaged after “going beyond the designated safe corridor and in a closed military zone.”
“This was an area far beyond our safe distribution site and the area of ​​operations,” the organization said. “We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians who remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites.”
GHF's ​​efforts have faced the scrutiny of humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, which has refused to participate on concerns that GHF lacks independence from Israeli military operations.
Only two days before, Gaza's Ministry of Health reported that dozens were killed and more than 200 injured by the Israeli fire near another help distribution site outside Rafah. The FDI and GHF have challenged that version of the events.
In response, UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has requested independent investigation into the incident.
A GHF spokesman told ABC News on Monday: “There has not been what we would consider an important incident in our distribution sites or in the surrounding facilities and so far it is relatively well.”
“However, we are looking for ways to improve it so that we can deliver more meals,” added the spokesman. “Our operations encourage us in the first week and the fact that we could provide almost six million meals in the first full week.”
(ABC News)
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